Lightweight intercooler
By using lightweight metal materials and a flat intercooler with a reverse flow design, the problems of intercooler weight and space occupation are solved, the engine intake air density and power output stability are improved, and the maintenance process is simplified.
Patent Information
- Application Number
- CN202511815054.8
- Authority / Receiving Office
- CN · China
- Patent Type
- Applications(China)
- Current Assignee / Owner
- Filing Date
- 2025-12-04
- Publication Date
- 2026-01-20
AI Technical Summary
Existing intercoolers are too heavy, take up too much space, and are difficult to balance air resistance and water resistance, affecting the stability of engine power output.
The flat intercooler structure, made of lightweight metal material, combines airflow and water flow in opposite directions, and is equipped with positioning and fixing components and drain plugs to achieve lightweight and efficient heat dissipation.
It reduces the weight and space occupied by the intercooler, improves the intake air density and power output stability of the engine, and simplifies the maintenance process.
Smart Images
Figure CN121363467A_ABST
Abstract
Description
TECHNICAL FIELD
[0001] The present application relates to the technical field of engine supercharging system, and particularly relates to a lightweight intercooler. BACKGROUND
[0002] In the field of engine technology, turbocharging technology is one of the key means to improve the power performance of the engine. The turbocharged engine compresses air through the turbocharger, so that more air enters the combustion chamber to participate in combustion, thereby improving the output power of the engine. However, after the air is compressed by the turbocharger, the temperature will rise sharply, which will lead to a decrease in air density, thereby affecting the air intake efficiency. Therefore, the intercooler becomes a core supporting component of the turbocharged engine, and its main function is to cool the compressed high-temperature air, reduce the air temperature, improve the air density, and ensure the air intake of the engine.
[0003] As shown in Figure 1 The existing intercooler is generally composed of a core, an air chamber and a water chamber, and its installation position is usually selected at the end of the intake horizontal pipe and supported on the flywheel housing of the engine. This traditional intercooler has the following defects: first, the weight is too large, the weight of the conventional product is about 120Kg, which not only increases the overall weight of the engine, but also increases the fuel consumption of the whole vehicle; second, the volume is large, and the space occupied is more, which cannot meet the current space requirements of compact layout of parts of the whole vehicle; third, the traditional intercooler is difficult to balance the problems of air resistance and water resistance while considering the heat dissipation efficiency, which affects the power output stability of the engine. With the increasing demand for lightweight, compactness and high efficiency of high-power diesel engines, the structure design of the existing intercooler cannot meet the market development needs, and a lightweight and stable intercooler structure is needed to solve the above problems. SUMMARY
[0004] In order to solve the problems of excessive weight, large space occupation and difficulty in balancing air resistance and water resistance of the existing intercooler, the present application provides a lightweight intercooler which realizes the heat dissipation requirement of high-power engine in limited space and is lightweight designed for easy installation and maintenance.
[0005] The technical scheme adopted by the lightweight intercooler of the present application is as follows: A lightweight intercooler, comprising a heat exchange main body made of lightweight metal material, a fluid passage assembly and a positioning and fixing assembly; wherein the heat exchange main body is in a flat structure, the fluid passage assembly is arranged on both sides of the heat exchange main body for realizing the flow of the supercharged air and the cooling medium, and the positioning and fixing assembly is arranged at the bottom of the heat exchange main body for realizing the assembly of the heat exchange main body and the engine.
[0006] Further improvement of the technical scheme of the present application is that the heat exchange main body comprises a core and two water chambers symmetrically arranged at two ends of the core, the two water chambers are respectively an inlet water chamber and an outlet water chamber, the core is internally provided with a plurality of parallel heat exchange channels, and the heat exchange channels are in communication with the interiors of the water chambers.
[0007] Further improvement of the technical scheme of the present application is that the fluid channel assembly comprises two air chambers, an air inlet, an air outlet, a water inlet pipe and a water outlet pipe; the two air chambers are fixed to the two sides of the core and in communication with the heat exchange channels, the air chambers have a trapezoidal structure as a whole, the air inlet and the air outlet are respectively arranged on the outer side walls of the two air chambers, and the water inlet pipe and the water outlet pipe are respectively in communication with the two water chambers and are adapted to an auxiliary water pump and a water tank outside the engine.
[0008] Further improvement of the technical scheme of the present application is that in the fluid channel assembly, the flow direction of the high-temperature pressurized air entering the air chamber through the air inlet and flowing through the internal heat exchange channels of the core is opposite to the flow direction of the cooling medium entering the water chamber through the water inlet pipe and flowing through the core.
[0009] Further improvement of the technical scheme of the present application is that the positioning and fixing assembly comprises a plurality of fixing support plates, the plurality of support plates are uniformly distributed along the length direction of the heat exchange main body, the top of the support plate is fixedly connected with the bottom of the heat exchange main body, and the bottom of the support plate is provided with a mounting hole for bolt connection with an assembly surface above the engine air inlet pipe.
[0010] Further improvement of the technical scheme of the present application is that the bottom of the heat exchange main body is provided with a drain screw plug, the drain screw plug is located at the lowest point of the heat exchange main body and is arranged close to the outer side of the engine, and the drain screw plug is in threaded sealing connection with the water chamber.
[0011] Thanks to the above technical scheme, the present application has the following technical progress: The present application adopts a light metal material as the overall material, which can reduce the overall weight compared with the weight of 120 Kg of the traditional intercooler, thereby reducing the weight of the engine and the fuel consumption of the whole vehicle; meanwhile, the flat structure design can be directly installed above the engine air inlet pipe, replacing the traditional layout mode of being installed on the flywheel housing, saving the installation space and meeting the compact layout requirement of the whole vehicle.
[0012] The present application adopts the design that the flow direction of the air is opposite to the flow direction of the water, so that the high-temperature pressurized air and the cooling medium can fully exchange heat, significantly reducing the outlet air temperature and guaranteeing the inlet air density, thereby improving the power output stability of the engine; meanwhile, the air chamber adopts a trapezoidal structure design, which has a good flow guiding effect and can guide the pressurized air to uniformly flow through the heat exchange channels of the core, avoiding local accumulation of the air flow and further improving the uniformity of heat exchange.
[0013] The bottom is provided with a plurality of evenly distributed fixing support plates, which can effectively prevent the intercooler from moving left and right during the operation of the engine, and ensure the stability of the assembled structure; meanwhile, a drain screw plug is arranged at the lowest point of the intercooler and close to the outer side of the engine, so that the operator can quickly drain the residual water or impurities in the water chamber during maintenance, thereby reducing the maintenance difficulty. BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF DRAWINGS
[0014] Figure 1 It is a structural schematic view of the intercooler of the background technology of the present application; Figure 2 It is a structural schematic view of the lightweight intercooler of the present application; Figure 3 It is a structural schematic view of the lightweight intercooler of the present application from the bottom.
[0015] In the drawings: 1, core; 2, water chamber; 3, gas chamber; 4, air inlet; 5, air outlet; 6, water inlet pipe; 7, water outlet pipe; 8, support plate; 9, mounting hole; 10, drain screw plug. DETAILED DESCRIPTION
[0016] In order to make the purpose, technical scheme and advantages of the present application more clear and obvious, the present application will be further described in detail below in combination with specific embodiments and with reference to the drawings. In the following description, the description of known structures and technologies is omitted to avoid unnecessary confusion of the concept of the present application.
[0017] The present application provides a lightweight intercooler, as shown in Figure 2 and Figure 3 , which comprises a heat exchange main body, a fluid passage assembly and a positioning and fixing assembly, and each component cooperates to realize the functions of lightweight, efficient heat dissipation and stable assembly.
[0018] The heat exchange main body is welded by high-strength aluminum alloy material, and the aluminum alloy material has the advantages of lightweight and excellent heat conductivity, so that the heat exchange efficiency can be guaranteed while the weight is reduced. The heat exchange main body has a flat structure, and its size is accurately adapted and designed, with a length of 1016mm, a width of 300mm and a thickness of 120mm. The size can perfectly match the installation space above the engine air inlet pipe, and replace the structure layout of the traditional intercooler.
[0019] The heat exchange main body comprises a core 1 and two water chambers 2 symmetrically arranged at the front and rear ends of the core 1. The two water chambers 2 are respectively an inlet water chamber 2 and an outlet water chamber 2. A plurality of parallel heat exchange channels are formed in the core 1, and the cross section of the heat exchange channel is rectangular. The core 1 and the water chamber 2 are welded and fixed, and the heat exchange channel is connected with the inside of the water chamber 2.
[0020] The fluid passage assembly is distributed on both sides of the heat exchange main body, responsible for realizing the inlet and outlet and flow of the charge air and the cooling medium, including two air chambers 3, an air inlet 4, an air outlet 5, a water inlet pipe 6 and a water outlet pipe 7. The two air chambers 3 are respectively fixed on the left and right sides of the core 1 by welding, and are in communication with the heat exchange passages in the core 1, the air chamber 3 has a trapezoidal structure as a whole, the side angle of the air chamber 3 is 15°, and the trapezoidal structure can guide the charge air entering the heat exchange passage to enter the engine smoothly and uniformly, avoiding energy loss and local overheating caused by airflow impact.
[0021] The air inlet 4 and the air outlet 5 are respectively arranged on the outer side walls of the two air chambers 3, the pipe diameters of the air inlet 4 and the air outlet 5 are matched with the pipe diameters of the supercharger and the engine air inlet pipe; the water inlet pipe 6 and the water outlet pipe 7 are respectively welded on the outer sides of the two water chambers 2, and are arranged towards the outside of the engine, facilitating the connection of the pipe lines of the external auxiliary water pump and the water tank, and reducing the assembly trouble caused by the pipe line intersection.
[0022] To further improve the heat exchange efficiency, in the embodiment, the air flow direction and the water flow direction adopt an opposite design, specifically: the charge air enters from the air inlet 4 of the right air chamber 3, flows to the left along the heat exchange passage airway, and flows out from the air outlet 5 of the left air chamber 3; the cooling medium enters from the water inlet pipe 6 on the left side of the water chamber 2, flows through the heat exchange passage of the core 1 after flowing through the water chamber 2, and flows out from the water outlet pipe 7 on the right side of the water chamber 2, the air and the cooling medium flow in opposite directions, this opposite flow mode maximizes the temperature difference between the hot and cold fluids, and realizes efficient heat exchange. At the same time, the inner walls of the air inlet 4, the air outlet 5, the water inlet pipe 6 and the water outlet pipe 7 and the ports of the heat exchange passage all adopt a round corner transition design, which reduces the resistance of the airflow and the water flow in the flow process, and reduces the operating loss.
[0023] The positioning and fixing assembly is arranged at the bottom of the heat exchange main body, and is used for realizing the stable assembly of the intercooler and the engine, and includes three fixed support plates 8. The three support plates 8 are uniformly distributed along the length direction of the heat exchange main body, the support plate 8 is made of an aluminum alloy plate, the top of the support plate 8 is fixed with the bottom of the heat exchange main body by welding, and the bottom is provided with two mounting holes 9, during assembly, bolts pass through the mounting holes 9 and are fastened and connected with the assembly surface above the engine air inlet pipe, and in the embodiment, the positioning and fixing assembly can effectively limit the movement of the intercooler in the front-rear and left-right directions, and ensures the structural stability of the engine during operation.
[0024] Meanwhile, a drain screw plug 10 is arranged at the bottom of the heat exchange main body, the drain screw plug 10 is located at the lowest point of the heat exchange main body, and is arranged close to the outside of the engine, so that the operator can quickly reach during maintenance. The drain screw plug 10 is in threaded sealing connection with the threaded hole at the bottom of the water chamber 2, the end of the screw plug is provided with a cross slot, so that the screw plug can be disassembled and assembled by using a common screwdriver, which is convenient for periodically draining the residual water, impurities or precipitates in the water chamber 2, and avoids the influence of scale accumulation on the heat exchange efficiency and the service life of the components.
[0025] The light-weight intercooler in the embodiment is assembled by first fixing the three fixing support plates 8 on the preset assembly surface above the engine intake pipe through bolts to complete the positioning and installation of the heat exchange main body; then connecting the air inlet and outlet 5 of the air chamber 3 with the air outlet of the supercharger and the air inlet of the engine respectively, connecting the water inlet pipe 6 of the water chamber 2 with the external auxiliary water pump, and connecting the water outlet pipe 7 of the water chamber 2 with the water outlet pipeline of the external water tank. In the running process, the high-temperature supercharged air after turbocharging uniformly flows through the heat exchange channel of the core 1, exchanges heat with the cooling medium flowing in the water chamber 2, enters the air chamber 3, and then the low-temperature high-pressure air after cooling enters the engine combustion chamber from the air outlet 5 through the trapezoidal air chamber 3, effectively improving the air density and ensuring the high-power output of the engine.
[0026] In the above embodiment, a light-weight intercooler is provided, which uses light metal material as the overall material, can reduce the overall weight compared with the weight of 120 Kg of the traditional intercooler, thereby reducing the weight of the engine and the fuel consumption of the whole vehicle; at the same time, the flat structure design can be directly installed above the engine intake pipe, replacing the traditional layout mode of being installed on the flywheel housing, saving the installation space and meeting the compact layout requirements of the whole vehicle; the present application can make the high-temperature supercharged air and the cooling medium exchange heat sufficiently by adopting the design of the air flow direction and the water flow direction being opposite, significantly reduce the outlet temperature, ensure the air density, and thereby improve the power output stability of the engine; at the same time, the air chamber adopts trapezoidal structure design, has good flow guiding effect, can guide the low-temperature high-pressure air uniformly flowing through the heat exchange channel of the core to enter the engine combustion chamber from the air outlet 5, avoid local accumulation of air flow, and further improve the uniformity of heat exchange; the present application is provided with multiple evenly distributed fixing support plates at the bottom, which can effectively prevent the intercooler from moving up and down and left and right during the running of the engine, and ensure the structural stability after assembly; at the same time, the drain screw plug is arranged at the lowest point of the intercooler and close to the outer side of the engine, which is convenient for the operator to quickly drain the residual water or impurities in the water chamber during maintenance, and reduces the maintenance difficulty.
[0027] The above-described embodiments are merely preferred embodiments of the present application, and do not limit the concept and scope of the present application. Various modifications and improvements to the technical solutions of the present application made by those skilled in the art without departing from the design concept of the present application shall fall within the protection scope of the present application, and the technical content claimed by the present application has been fully recorded in the claims.
Claims
1. A lightweight intercooler characterized by: The application relates to a heat exchange main body, a fluid channel assembly and a positioning and fixing assembly which are formed by welding light metal materials.
2. The light-weight intercooler according to claim 1, characterized in that: The heat exchange main body comprises a core (1) and two water chambers (2) symmetrically arranged at two ends of the core (1), the two water chambers (2) are respectively an inlet water chamber (2) and an outlet water chamber (2), the core (1) is internally provided with a plurality of parallel heat exchange channels which are in communication with interiors of the water chambers (2).
3. The light-weight intercooler according to claim 2, characterized in that: The fluid channel assembly comprises two air chambers (3), an air inlet (4), an air outlet (5), a water inlet pipe (6) and a water outlet pipe (7); the two air chambers (3) are fixed to two sides of the core (1) and are in communication with the heat exchange channels, the air chambers (3) are in trapezoidal structures as a whole, the air inlet (4) and the air outlet (5) are respectively arranged on the outer side walls of the two air chambers (3), the water inlet pipe (6) and the water outlet pipe (7) are in communication with the two water chambers (2) and are matched with an auxiliary water pump and a water tank outside the engine.
4. The light-weight intercooler according to claim 3, characterized in that: In the fluid channel assembly, the flow direction of the pressurized air which enters the air chamber (3) through the air inlet (4) and flows through the heat exchange channels in the core (1) is opposite to the flow direction of the cooling medium which enters the water chamber (2) through the water inlet pipe (6) and flows through the core (1).
5. The light-weight intercooler of claim 1, wherein: The positioning and fixing assembly comprises a plurality of supporting plates (8) which are uniformly distributed along the length direction of the heat exchange main body, the top of the supporting plate (8) is fixedly connected with the bottom of the heat exchange main body, and the bottom of the supporting plate (8) is provided with mounting holes (9) which are used for being bolted with an assembly surface above an air inlet pipe of the engine.
6. The light-weight intercooler of claim 1, wherein: The bottom of the heat exchange main body is provided with a water drainage screw plug (10), the water drainage screw plug (10) is located at the lowest point of the heat exchange main body and is arranged close to the outer side of the engine, and the water drainage screw plug (10) is in threaded sealing connection with the water chamber (2).